1970 starchief

[Watermann]

I put a top mount shifter on the gunnel on my Chief and for the wife's nav side you can see 2 stainless grab handles on the side and in front.

 

[Slaviolette]

What you did with that chief is amazing, i'm actually through the threads.

 

[Watermann]

What you did with that chief is amazing, i'm actually through the threads.

Thanks, sure was a whole lot of fun but even more over the years out on the water.

 

[Slaviolette]

Took her out a couple of times so far.. it sure is a nice ride ! I definitely must have some issues.. trying to maneuver her to get in the slip is tricky, winds and current were strong so it was difficult to keep control, the controls do not allow me to toggle in and out of gear easily and smoothly.. having to slide the arm almost 2/3rds of the way up to get her to move or back up make doesn't help, and whenever I pull back on throttle to go in neutral I feel the engine as if she is missing gas or air, once she stalled on me doing that.

Also doing the above going in and out of gear her RPM drops to close to 500ish, I have to raise the high idle arm close to half way to prevent a stall.

Otherwise, on the water, she runs nice, once in gear I can lower the high idle and she runs strong at 25mph

Should I look at the electric choke ? for the controls.. could the cables be stretched ? if there any possibility of an easy replacement of the control ? if so any models I can look into ?

oh and I'm really disappointed.. my horn does not work, I liked the classic look, took her apart, cannot really see what's wrong but there is some corrosion, does not see like much can be fixed in there

Thanks

 

[Watermann]

Those old controls that are used for both IO and OBs are not the best and can get worn but yours sounds to me like it could be broken or someone put it together wrong after having it apart.When you move the handle forward does the cable move forward too? Wondering if the barrel on the cable is out of the socket inside the controls.

Converting from a stove pipe type heat riser choke to electronic is a pretty simple and cheap upgrade, my V6 had the old style that I converted to electric, works much better.

Some new stainless dual trumpet horns are in order is sounds like.

 

[Slaviolette]

I`ll check the cable for sure, i`m hoping its that simple.. the choke, I have an electric (round module on the side of the carb, 2 wires on it) do these go bad over time ? looks pretty original to me..

 

[Watermann]

No I don't think the electric chokes go bad, just make sure it has power, sets closed and opens properly when up to temp.

 

[Slaviolette]

Well.. went to the boat this evening, forgot the darn key.. but checked a few things. The cables coming out of the remote control box are secure and do not travel, the box itself feels like its working well, no funny noises.

I pulled the flame arrestor.. and the choke is stuck wide open.. hit it with a finger and closes, i can open it up manually fully and it will stay open unless I hit it, is this normal, tomorrow I will go back with the key and see what it does when I turn the key on. I never had issues starting her cold, its always the idle when warm, going from forward down to neutral that it goes way down.

then another surprise, I opened the oil cap.. see the photo.. not feeling really good about this one.. checking the dipstick oil seems fine.. you can see some grey sludge in the top part of the engine.

 

[SHSU]

So take what I say with a grain of salt, no experiences with IOs.

With that said, 500 RPM seems really low for in gear, mine is 750 on an outboard and even then I am sometimes worried about it. Would need someone with IO experience or has the specs for what your in gear pickup should be.

The grey sludge does not look good, looks like water is getting into it. Did you change the oil when you first got it?


SHSU

 

[Slaviolette]

yeah 500 is way too low.. the engine runs really rough, feels real good at 1000 when I have the high idle lever up a bit. she`s 50 years old.. I need to expect little things like this..

the sludge does worry me, but I heard condensation can do that and it is not necessarily a blown gasket or block issue, when she`s out of the water I will do an oil change and hope for the best.

everything around the engine looks original... I saw that the 2 wires from the choke are not tight and there is some corrosion, and I am wondering, should there be only 1 wire (positive) ? could the second just be an improvised ground ? does not seem factory since it is attached to one of the mounting screws, I bet you the choke is not even working at all. if ever I have problems with the carb itself i`m lucky, the seller gave me a complete spare one that I can rebuild !

 

[chrisp929]

Hey Slav, please don’t be overly alarmed when i say this... just relax but... DO NOT RUN THAT ENGINE . Get it checked out. There’s more than just condensation in the engine causing that sludge. There’s a LOT of water/and/or coolant in the oil. You will damage the engine irreparably running it like that. Sorry, but better to fix it, than blow the motor down the road. Head gasket probably. Good luck. Pease keep us posted.

 

[Slaviolette]

I guess a blown head gasket is the best case scenario.. a cracked block would doom it..

I am curious, the engine is a 140hp, I am guessing a 2.5 ?? the outdrive I was told a MC-e (pre alpha ) what engines would be a straight swap for this setup ? stern drive seems fine (will have it inspected) just wondering what I could drop in easily without having to mod anything.. would a more recent 3.0 work ?

 

[Slaviolette]

Spoke with the guy who sold me the boat.. claims he did an oil change when he winterized the boat in the fall, drove it heavily all summer every week.. doesn't sound like a major leak to me

 

[SHSU]

Option I see as:

Do a compression check to see if any obvious signs of a blown head gasket or cracked block. From there if no compression issue, then run a couple quarts of cheap oil from Walmart to try and clean out the gunk oil. Run it on muffs and see if you get any water in the oil.

My 2 cents before trying to replace the engine

SHSU

 

[Watermann]

That amount of milky sludge defiantly is not normal. My best guess is the exhaust manifold and riser needs checked. Normally the bock cracking appears on the outside and head gaskets being blown presents symptoms other than just the sludge. The MC 140 is a 3.0 L.

The choke plate is attached to a coiled spring and should have tension if adjusted properly or not broken. The wires, one attached to a bolt is the sensor and the other usually gets switched 12v from the coil + side.

 

[Slaviolette]

Tomorrow morning I am heading out to do a compression check.. I cannot see any exterior signs on the block, and there is definitely no oil or water leaving outside of the engine, the hull is bone dry.

So many scenarios went through my mind in the past few days.. I even checked out offshore brackets to convert to an outboard.. looks like that would be the way to go if the block is cracked, much cheaper, plus I gain space in the boat.

I will post my findings.. I am hoping it's not going to be too bad.

 

[Watermann]

It's upsetting to say the least when people sell others boats that have problems they surely knew about. I guess it's a sign of the times we live in where so many are deceptive and have no guilt.

As far as an OB bracket being cheaper goes than a replacement 3.0 I'd have to disagree with that and the amount of work is considerably more. If your motor only needs a new gasket set in the manifold and riser that's a very cheap and easy fix.

Examine the spark plugs carefully for any signs of water intrusion when you pull them.

 

[Slaviolette]

Things are getting interesting !

I pulled all 4 plugs from the engine, water was obvious on at least two of them, I connected the compression tester and turned the key... to my surprise my motor transformed itself in a pressure washer.. I shot water on the boat next to me a good 6 feet away !

Compression test was good, ranging in the 135 to 160.

the water shot out of 3 and 4 (not sure if that is their actual number, i am going by 1 being at the front of the engine)

this week I will attach a 10hp on the rear bracket and bring her to the ramp to bring her home, it will be easier to work on it from my driveway than at the marina.

I have a feeling that I am lucky here... I am wondering how the hell she can still run with all that water in the motor.. what should I look for first ?

 

[Watermann]

Things are getting interesting !

I pulled all 4 plugs from the engine, water was obvious on at least two of them, I connected the compression tester and turned the key... to my surprise my motor transformed itself in a pressure washer.. I shot water on the boat next to me a good 6 feet away !

Compression test was good, ranging in the 135 to 160.

the water shot out of 3 and 4 (not sure if that is their actual number, i am going by 1 being at the front of the engine)

this week I will attach a 10hp on the rear bracket and bring her to the ramp to bring her home, it will be easier to work on it from my driveway than at the marina.

I have a feeling that I am lucky here... I am wondering how the hell she can still run with all that water in the motor.. what should I look for first ?

Exhaust manifold riser.

 

[Slaviolette]

Time for a major update !

Finally found myself a nice little 6hp kicker and made the 2 hour drive back to the ramp to get her out of the water and back in my driveway.. took the riser off, pretty easy actually, I even felt like it was too easy.. riser looked fine, I put some water in the water jackets, cannot see any leaks.

Then I took a photo down the rubber tubing under the riser.. and saw some sort of valve, I pulled the rubber tubing off and found what seems to be called a water shutter.. well the darn thing is broken and missing one side... sounds like the whole issue comes from here.

Now this shutter is attached at the top of a cast iron tube and held by 4 rivets.. please someone tell me I won`t have to pull the engine to replace this 40$ part... looks like I can bust the rivets and re attach a new one with stainless bolt.. looks like using the rivet gun won`t be an option, too tight.